Facebook and Cancellation of Harud Literature festival

Online campaigns are viewed as the most democratic medium in contemporary times. There are numerous examples of social media resulting in change and enhancing accountability in countries, towns and villages. As someone who studies the positive impact of social media on civil society interactions, it’s heartening to witness these developments. Various forms on online protests, exchange of ideas on Twitter and open discussion forums available on Facebook have demonstrated the power of social media.

But a recent incident has forced me to accept the inevitable – social media is an open forum and can be misused if the users so intend. I am referring to the cancellation of the Harud Autumn Literature Festival in Kashmir, India. The festival scheduled to be held in the last week of September was a unique opportunity for the budding literary minds of Kashmir, Jammu and Ladakh to engage with stalwarts from across the country. The reason for cancellation was spelled out by Namita Gokhale, the festival advisor: “What would you do if 5,000 people on Facebook are running a campaign for boycott of the festival and plan violence.”